


grazie di tutto

by vivific



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/F, Not Beta Read, POV Third Person Limited, Present Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 13:13:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7575295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivific/pseuds/vivific
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lila is still all smiles and jokes and feigned friendliness. It's downplayed, carefully controlled and planned. She gasps on cue and discusses Volpina as though she’s not involved at all.</p><p>She's friendly enough for people to like her, but not enough for them to get close.</p><p>Marinette feels bad for her, wishes she could get closer, but one look from the girl makes her want to flee with her tail between her legs.</p><p>Lila scares her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	grazie di tutto

**Author's Note:**

> i don't knoooooow i wrote this literally starting from midnight just here have these gay children i love them and i will protect them
> 
> (not tagging this as lilanette week bc i didn't quite read the prompt list and this was totally spur of the moment as evidenced by my bad handling of plot points lol)
> 
>  
> 
> [Check me out on tumblr for more stuff on writing, including wips and previews.](http://vivifics.tumblr.com/)

Lila comes to school the next day and witnesses first-hand how prevalent akumas are in the school’s social sphere.

No one really cares for Lila’s past, too busy discussing the fake superheroine who had turned out to be an akuma. Volpina wasn’t public, though. Very few people saw the heroine in person beyond her show of saving Paris from a meteorite. A few caught footage of the falling building and the subsequent revelation of it being an illusion, but Ladybug had already broken the illusion of Volpina before cameras could get to them.

But Lila is still all smiles and jokes and feigned friendliness. It's downplayed, carefully controlled and planned. She gasps on cue and discusses Volpina as though she’s not involved at all.

She's friendly enough for people to like her, but not enough for them to get close.

Marinette feels bad for her, wishes she could get closer, but one look from the girl makes her want to flee with her tail between her legs.

Lila scares her.

It's not because of her manipulation, nor her dormant mean girl streak. It's because despite everything in Lila's life, she doesn't seem to care for anyone.

Lila shines under the attention and the adoration, but Marinette has never seen the girl show any sign of affection without getting something in return.

A few days after Lila’s arrival, she hears some of the other students gossiping about the new girl. It's harmless compared to what Chloé has said (she’s rather salty about Lila supposedly being Ladybug’s best friend, but Lila brushed her off like she was an nuisance), but it still bothers Marinette enough to go up to them and interrupt the conversation.

She channels what little bit of Ladybug she can and stares them down silently.

They're not Chloé, they don't mean to be rude. So they get the message and awkwardly hurry off to class, and Marinette feels like she's run a marathon just standing there for half a minute.

She recollects herself, and tries to remember what her next class is.

"Hey, you’re Marinette, right?"

Marinette's heart is already beating faster than a drum, but she swears it skips a beat or fifty as she whirls around to face Lila.

The Italian is as cool and collected as ever, her deep brown hair let loose and flowing past her waist. She doesn't meet Marinette's eyes, picking idly at her fingernails. Marinette admires her makeup. The blush looks very nice on her.

"Uh, yeah.” She says, her voice an octave too high. Her heart is racing towards the moon as far as she's concerned. “You’re Lila.”

Lila gives her a brief look, face stoic and unreadable. Marinette screams inside.

“Wanna walk to English with me?” Lila asks, folding her arms as the words flow from her mouth like silk. “I’m still getting used to this school’s hallways.”

Marinette blinks at the girl. Had she even heard the other students talking about her?

“Sure,” she manages, feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

The brunette nods once, then heads off in the direction of the English hallway. Marinette nearly trips over herself to catch up.

Neither of them speak to each other. Marinette is still trembling in her runners and despite Lila’s warning that she might get lost, the new girl is walking with the confidence of a killer hunting down their next target.

She really does scare her.

The Italian takes long, purposeful strides, and radiates an aura of importance. Marinette fears even breathing around her. The crowds part, consciously or otherwise.

Marinette stares after the girl, watching her hair bounce over her back in waves with each step.

She's not sure what to make of her.

Lila stops, and Marinette realizes they're at the front of their English class.

And yet Lila hasn't walked in yet.

The brunette stares at a set of lockers besides the door, one hand clenching the strap of her bag. Marinette wonders if she's meant to leave her and go in first.

"Thanks."

Marinette blinks before she figures Lila is speaking to her.

"For what?"

Lila still doesn't meet her gaze, her head tilting up to the corner where the ceiling met the wall.

"Nothing, just thanks."

"O-okay," Marinette manages, and she's beating herself up inside.

"Wanna do homework together after school?"

Lila's still not meeting her eyes, and Marinette awkwardly stares at the side of Lila's head.

Her? Homework? The two of them together?

What does Lila want from her? She's just Marinette, the awkward girl who trips over air and whose ability to speak coherent sentences depends on a coin flip.

"Unless you're busy, of course."

Lila already sounds bored and disinterested and Marinette jumps the gun.

"No, it's fine!" She says, a bit louder than she intends.

But her ears are already burning from Lila's non-conversation, so she doesn't pay attention to the students giving them brief, curious looks.

At last, the brunette turns to look at her. She's still poised as though she could care less, still radiating the aura of indifference, and still looking as though ready to kill someone.

But she's meeting Marinette's eyes, and the girl feels like Lila is staring straight into her soul.

A small smiles curves Lila's lips, and the girl takes a step forwards.

They're a bit closer now, close enough for Lila to stab her or whatever the look in the Italian’s eyes means.

"Great," her voice sounds like bells. "I’ll give you my number."

Marinette stares at Lila, her outstretched hand barely in her peripheral, before realizing that this is where she pulls out her phone and hands it over to her classmate.

She blinks and the world comes back to her.

The dark haired girl ducks her head, fumbling with her bag more than usual, and finally digs out her cell. She passes it over to the brunette with shaky hands.

Marinette swears aeons pass as Lila taps away at her number. Her bangs hang over her face as her nails click against the screen.

Lila is beautiful, Marinette doesn't quite realize. It's more like the thought has finally registered to her after days of floating around in her brain. She’s beautiful and she intimidates the life out of her.

Time passes like normal and Lila hands her phone back, only for it to skip a second as Marinette's fingers touch the Italian's.

The phone drops to the floor with a clatter and it occurs to Marinette that she's holding onto Lila's hand and she completely missed grabbing onto her phone.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Lila says before Marinette can remember how words work. The brunette leans down and picks up the device with her free hand, placing it in Marinette's open palm.

She can feel the softness of Lila's hand against the back of her hand, and Marinette stares at their touching hands before she finally pulls away.

She looks up, and Lila smiling as usual, but there's a warmth Marinette's never seen before.

"I'll see you after school, then," Lila smiles, and heads off down the hall before Marinette can say a word.

"Wait- Isn't this your class?" She finally manages. But Lila is strides away and Marinette doesn't want to draw anymore attention.

She stumbles into her class and sits down next to Alya. The redhead is reviewing notes with too many formulas to be anything related to English.

"Hey, um," Marinette interrupts, watching as her friend flips through her notes on combustion. "Do you know what English class Lila has?"

Alya is too engrossed in her last-minute studying to notice the unusual question.

"Yeah, she's been everywhere so she takes an advanced class."

Marinette nods, even though Alya’s too busy fervently whispering mnemonics to notice.

Her phone is still in her hand, and there's still a few more minutes before class officially begins.

She breathes in and finds Lila's number, and sends off a quick text before she can regret her life choices.

_Is the library all right?_

Then she remembers Lila didn't take her number.

_It's Marinette, by the way._

She ponders clarifying. She never really spoke to the girl much as she saw her from afar and felt really, really guilty.

She spoke to Adrien more than Lila, and that was saying something.

A second later there's a reply. Marinette forces herself to read it.

_I heard your family runs a bakery._

Oh, so Lila is one of those texters.

Or rather, she texts like Alya and that's really the only point of reference Marinette has.

_I've been wanting to check out some more local places in Paris_

_Do you mind if we hang out there?_

Marinette bites her lip. It's sudden. She's only had a few of her classmates over minus Alya and that was when something important was happening.

The bell rings and the teacher begins roll call. Marinette winces and hurriedly drops her phone back into her bag, apologizing silently to Lila.

She's shaking throughout the first half of the lesson and she's not quite sure why.

Lila is scary, yes, but only in that she intimidates her. Lila's confident and looks capable of holding her own and is entirely indifferent to the world around her and-

It scares Marinette to no end.

And she just agreed to hang out with her after school. A near stranger.

At least, that's what she is to Lila. Marinette knows Lila, but Lila...

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, how about you take on the role of Lady Macbeth?"

"O-of course!"

* * *

 

The class ends and she barely had time to wish Alya good luck on her Chemistry test when the girl practically teleports out of the room. Had it been a cartoon, Marinette is certain her friend would have left a trail of flying papers in her wake.

She pulls out her phone and finally replies, having rehearsed her replies throughout the entire class.

Also, Lady Macbeth was definitely possessed. It was eerie.

_Yeah, it's fine, I don't mind! Do you know where my locker is? Or I could meet you at yours._

She slips her phone into her pocket and leaves the class. She's barely taken a few steps down the hall when her phone vibrates.

_You're near the window, first row on the left from the entrance, huh? Don't worry, I'll find you._

Something about the "I'll find you" makes Marinette jumpy.

She shakes her head. Nope. No. Non.

She has got to calm down before the end of the day.

* * *

It's a valiant effort, but by the time the bell rings and school lets out, Marinette thinks she might be even more nervous that she was three hours ago.

But true to her word, Lila finds her. Or, well, Marinette finds her waiting next to her locker.

"You're fast!" She blurts out before her brain catches up. Her mouth shuts with an audible click of teeth.

Lila stares at her, then she laughs, and it sounds like rain fall.

"My class is right next door," the girl grins, and Marinette thinks it's her embarrassment that makes her heart pound.

"Ah, right, of course."

She fumbles with her combination and manages to get it wrong three times before she finally gets a hold of her fingers and opens her locker.

"I still haven't been assigned a locker yet," Lila says, as though she doesn't notice all of their classmates staring at them. "So I figured it'd be easier for me to find you."

"So you've just been carrying all your stuff around?" Marinette asks her locker more than Lila.

Lila chuckles like it's punctuation.

"Unfortunately~" she sings, and Marinette wonders what Lila would sound like if she sang aloud.

She's stares into her locker and tries to remember what she needs.

"We have a French quiz tomorrow," Lila helpfully reminds.

"Thanks," Marinette rushes, pulling out her French textbook and slamming her locker shut.

She turns and Lila is only a few centimetres away from her and abort abort abort _nope_!

Lila's fingers touch her hair and Marinette's too shocked and frozen to ask the girl if she understands the notion of personal space.

"Your hair is really nice," Lila says, and Marinette brushes her bangs aside instinctively.

She ducks her head when their fingers touch and something is up for sure.

Lila steps back and smiles at her.

"Shall we?"

Marinette only nods silently, and walks stiffly out of the room.

Rose and Juleka beam at her, and she has no idea why.

* * *

"Maman, Papa, this is Lila. She's my classmate at school."

Lila stands out like a sore thumb in her living room, dressed in designer clothing with a posture that suits a catwalk more than a home above a bakery.

"Oh, do you two have a project together?" Her mother asks, a cup of tea between her hands, grey eyes crinkling from her smile.

"Ah, no, Madame Dupain-Cheng," Lila beams and Marinette easily identifies it as one of pure politeness and nothing more. "I'm Marinette's new classmate and we're going to have a study session together. She's going to help me with all the stuff I've missed in our classes."

"Oh, that's great!" Her father grins and it's full of warmth. "I guess we won't keep you waiting then. Do you want anything to eat?"

Lila looks sheepish and Marinette can't tell if it's legitimate.

"I'd love to. I heard your bakery's one of the best in Paris, Monsieur."

Her father laughs and waves a hand, but Marinette knows he's flattered.

She keeps her smile and wonders what on earth Lila is doing.

She is not the best student. She misses classes for akuma attacks and falls asleep in lessons and has the worst public speaking skills ever.

Where did Lila hear that she was a good study partner? She doesn't do study sessions even with Alya because they'll end up goofing off and just hanging out.

"I'll see what we have left and send it up," her father is all love and smiles.

Lila smiles back and Marinette gives up on reading her.

They escape upstairs and Marinette has had enough.

"I'm not really the best student in our class, you know," she murmurs, feeling as though Lila should have gone to enough countries to know that stereotypes rarely held water.

"It's all right," Lila says, "It's not that."

"Why-" Marinette stammers, "Why did you want me to..."

She trails off and she wants to hide.

Why was she being so odd and awkward? So what if Lila never really had a reason to speak and hang out with her. She saw that she interrupted gossip on her, that was likely the only reason why she latched onto her.

Lila stares around her room and Marinette very belatedly remembers her decor.

"Oh, um..."

There's really no way out of this. And Marinette knew Lila was into Adrien and oh no...

She buries her face in her hands and her face is aflame and oh dear god.

Then, Lila begins to laugh. It's not mean, it's not mocking like Chloé's, but it's not really happy either.

She peeks out through her fingers and Lila has a hand over her mouth. Her eyes are closed and for a moment Marinette fears she might be crying.

But then her laugh becomes a bit more genuine.

"I'm sorry," she wheezes through her fit. "It's cute, you know?"

No, Marinette didn't know, but if Lila wasn't really upset...

"I mean, I can see why you'd like him, he's a pretty nice guy for who he is."

Lila's laughs subside and Marinette's heart rate slows just a tad.

The girl meets her eyes with a smile and Marinette turns and begins taking down the posters.

"Wait, you don't need to-"

"No, it's fine," Marinette says, words tumbling through her mouth like a flood of water. "It must be creepy."

"I've seen way worse, Mari," Lila giggles.

Marinette nearly misses the wall at the diminutive.

"I can call you that, right?" Lila asks, and Marinette doesn't dare turn around because her face is on fire.

"It's fine, I like it," she says, and she can't quite hide the smile on her face nor ignore the warmth blossoming in her chest.

"Let's get to studying then."

Marinette's breath catches as Lila's slender fingers wrap around her wrist in a feather-light grasp.

"Yeah," Marinette says, and leaves the poster alone. Alya didn't mind them. Her parents didn't mind them.

Lila didn't mind them either.

So it was all right.

"I said it didn't matter if you were good or not at school work, but are you good with history because I can't read through these textbooks."

Lila's smiles like a high chord on a piano.

Marinette nods, quietly, and slowly moves her arm.

Her fingers link with Lila's, and the brunette's eyes look like spring.

* * *

Their friendship had an odd start, as Alya puts it, but it's nice and warm and Marinette likes it a lot.

Lila hits it off with Alya, smiles through the girl's rants about Ladybug and manages to find common ground with Nino over mainstream media.

Marinette can't help but notice Adrien awkwardly floating to the side. But her heart is still in her throat and all she can think about when she sees him is the book she stole and the posters around her room.

She hugs Lila from behind like she does to Alya and the girl jumps the first time. Then she apologizes and hugs Marinette back and smiles at her like a blooming lily.

Alya teases her after Lila leaves for her advanced Spanish class because her new friend is crazy good with languages.

But Marinette only tilts her head and regards Alya quizzically.

"She's just being a friend," she says, and Alya's face changes to something not quite good but not bad either. "I hug you like that all the time."

Alya giggles and it sounds like a familiar breeze.

"You're so cute, Marinette," Alya ruffles her hair and Marinette squeaks a bit, fighting to fix her pigtails.

"You're being cryptic," Marinette frowns dramatically.

"You'll figure it out," Alya winks.

"Figure what out?" Nino appears, Adrien right behind him.

Marinette ducks into her seat and focuses on German and pretends she's mute because Adrien is staring at her for some reason.

* * *

Marinette and Lila grow closer and soon Lila and Alya have teamed up to help Marinette talk to Adrien and it's strange to Marinette because Lila hasn't spoken more than two words to Adrien outside of classes.

"Do you, not like Adrien?" she asks because she's only Marinette and as far as anyone is concerned she has no idea of Adrien and Lila's brief contact.

"I don't like guys like him," Lila shrugs. "Snobby, rich pretty boys who think they're God's gift to girls."

"Adrien's not like that, though," she protests, because Adrien is actually nice and she's never seen him otherwise.

"Yeah, I know, he's way too kind for his own good," Lila says and Marinette wonders if it's a bad thing. "That's why I don't trust him."

"You think he's like all those other guys, huh?"

Lila throws her a sheepish smile and it feels like a cloudy sky.

"You're both really sweet and nice," Lila says, and Marinette sees a forest in her eyes. "You're really alike."

"I don't think so," Marinette says without thinking. But it's okay, because Lila's as close to her as Alya. "I can be a horrible person."

Lila's dimples show and it's like a sunshower.

"Yeah, well, I think that if you can admit you have the capacity to be mean, but aren't, you're a nice person."

Marinette smiles herself, and wonders what Lila thinks of her.

(It's like looking into the night sky)

An akuma hits, the first after Volpina, and Lila ducks into the washroom and cries.

Marinette finds her, after the akuma is purified and the weather calms.

"Lila?" She speaks softly but can't hear anything over the crowds of student returning to classes. The walls aren't so thick.

"I'm fine."

It sounds like a barren moor.

Her nose is stuffy; her words are wrong.

"Hey, it's okay," Marinette says, because she's supposed to only be Marinette. "Akuma attacks are terrifying, especially to foreigners."

"How do you live with this?" Lila's breath hitches on the "live" and her accent changes. "It's madness."

Marinette laughs without meaning to, but it's mirthless with the weight of a wet sandbag. She presses herself against the door to the stall she thinks Lila's in.

"You get used to it, and hope that someday it'll all end."

It will end, Marinette tells herself. It will end because Ladybug will end it all.

"Yeah," Lila says, and sniffles.

"Want me to leave you alone?" Marinette asks, because that's how Alya is sometimes.

"No," Lila says. "I'd like if you could stay. But if you're late-"

"It's fine," Marinette says. I already have a bad track record, what's one more?

Lila breathes out a sigh and chuckles in the way Marinette knows is a coping response.

"I'm here for you, Lila."

"Thank you. It means more than you could ever imagine."

* * *

The school isn't big on rumours, Lila's setup aside.

So Marinette pieces things together quickly when Rose stops by her desk and reminds her of their weekly Pride Alliance meetings.

"Are you bi?" She asks Alya after English.

Alya raises an eyebrow.

"Have you seen Ladybug? I would date her if I wasn't already dating Nino. And maybe even then."

"No hard feelings," Nino pipes up with a grin, "I'd do the same for Chat Noir or Ladybug."

Marinette blinks, then nods.

Okay. Sure. Celebrity crush on Paris' superheroes.

Well, she is Ladybug, and she knows Chat Noir too well to be interested in him, and Adrien really was sweet and kind on top of being attractive.

She can't really think of anyone she felt towards the way she felt towards Adrien.

So she's fairly certain she's straight.

Still, Rose reminded her as an invitation to attend. She might as well support her friends.

* * *

The winds whip around her and she swears her yoyo's string is freezing around the beam.

Chat Noir digs his baton into the spaces and hisses at the akuma, a waif-like figure standing atop the tower, balancing impossibly on the tip of the point.

Ladybug admits that the Papillon's designs are getting better. Neigeune is dressed head to toe in a flowy white fabric with equally flowy ribbons and it's nearly impossible to see them in the snowstorm.

Chat Noir has already used Cataclysm breaking them out of the school. The plan was for him to recharge elsewhere but Neigeune got to them first.

And now they're on top of the Eiffel Tower, holding on for dear life as a snowstorm covers Paris like a big white blanket.

"Just give me your Miraculous and this will all be over!" The wind shrieks at them.

Ladybug can't see a thing and clings into the beam, yoyo wrapped tightly around it. Chat Noir yells something but his words succumb to the howling winds.

"Never!" Ladybug says and she wonders if she can summon her Lucky Charm in such a state. She doesn't dare move for fear of being blown away like a leaf.

But Chat Noir was about to detransform and he could not hold on as a civilian.

She curses into the snow and flips over the beam so she's being blown against it. Her yoyo unravels and carefully, she flings it upwards.

"Lucky-"

There’s an ominous cracking noise and for a moment Ladybug can’t touch anything. A scream rises in her throat.

"Gotcha!"

Her eyes snap open and she stares at a smug face, a hand tightly wrapped around her own.

"How-?"

Volpina pulls her back in and Ladybug carefully ties herself down to the beam again.

"Wait!"

Volpina scales up the tower like the winds aren’t even there and Ladybug can barely make out the flute in her hands.

She yells something and there's a flash of light and Ladybug nearly falls straight off the side of the Tower as the wind halts.

"Hey, _insetto_ , catch!"

Dangling off the tower, she catches the snow globe between her ankles and manoeuvres it into her free hand.

She scales up to the top, barely registering Chat Noir's stunned gaze, and smashes the dark globe onto the ground.

She purifies the akuma and breathes as her powers vanish the snow and spread throughout Paris.

The butterfly flutters off into the sky and Chat Noir nearly tackles her to the ground in a hug. Volpina rolls her eyes.

"Oh thank god, you're all right!" He murmurs into her ear. “I was so worried!”

“I’m glad you’re okay, too, Chat,” she replies and pats her partner on the back.

Chat releases her and turns to their saviour.

"Are you all right?" Volpina’s kneeling next to the latest akuma victim, a little boy clutching a snow globe close to his chest.

"I'm fine." He says, and Ladybug wants to punch the Papillon herself.

"You two should go home before your transformations wear off," Volpina says without an ounce of emotion. "I can take it from here."

"Volpina," Ladybug begins. "Thank you for-"

"I'm not going to be working with you regularly." Volpina is curt and to the point and doesn't even look at Ladybug or Chat Noir. "Don't expect me to show up whenever you can't do your jobs properly."

Volpina picks up the boy, who looks at her with a sort of wonder, and leaps off the tower.

The boy manages a laugh on the way down, and Ladybug feels like she's been stabbed.

"We're safe, Paris is safe," she says before Chat Noir can talk. "That's- that's all that matters, right?"

Chat Noir smiles at her, rests a hand on her shoulder, and Marinette smells the fading smoke of a wildfire.

"Yeah, that's all that matters."

* * *

Lila is late to school the next day, and Marinette isn't surprised. She rushes into class, apologizing in the wrong language before collecting herself and sitting in her seat.

Marinette catches her after class and hugs her as usual. She notices a brown string around her neck and smiles into her shoulder.

Volpina is all Alya can talk about for the rest of the week and the Ladyblog explodes with theories. Cynics ask if this means the Papillon could send out more than one akuma, while others are grateful they have a third hero to help now. A few conspiracy theorists claim that the Papillon was setting them all up, but Alya ignores it for the most part.

"This is like, the biggest thing since Ladybug and Chat Noir first showed up!" She gushes, and Lila looks a bit happy at the statement. Marinette feels happy herself, and also scared.

Lila is in danger now. Because she couldn't keep Paris safe.

She ignores Tikki's protests and rushes over to Guardian Fu's after school.

"Why did you give it to her?" She asks, and she's too upset and afraid to remember social protocol.

"Lila Rossi has earned the Fox Miraculous," the elder says, a smile on his face and a knowing look in his eye. "Whether or not she keeps it depends on what happens in the future."

"Not Lila," she grits her teeth. "Not anyone else, please. Chat Noir and I can do this, no one else needs to get involved."

"I understand you are trying to protect your fellow civilians," Fu's smile grows sad. "But Volpina is a good addition."

"Does she even want to help, though?" Marinette asks, even though she knows Lila wouldn't dare leave people in peril.

"She will help, but she won't be working with you and Chat Noir."

"I-" Marinette tries to breathe. "I don't want her to get hurt. It's not fair."

"Foxes are very cunning, Ladybug," Master Fu says. "Volpina will be all right. Trust your friend."

Marinette breathes in and exhales.

Trust Lila, trust Lila.

She trusts Lila, doesn’t she?

* * *

Marinette's birthday is usually quiet, for the most part. She doesn't throw huge parties like Chloé, she doesn't have a party at all. Instead her father and mother help bake her a cake, and usually she'll go out with Alya during the day.

This year, it's a school day, but it's also a Wednesday so she gets the entire afternoon off with her friends.

Friends. Plural. It's nice to be able to say that now.

Gone were the days when she was always alone and too shy to say anything, when she let Chloé and anyone walk all over her.

She has friends. She has Alya and Nino and Lila and Adrien.

Sure, she's still very bad at the talking coherently thing with Adrien, but she was beginning to interact with him more and get to know him better and it was like autumn leaves falling.

And she has Lila too. Volpina is still distant towards Chat Noir and Ladybug but Lila is a close, close friend and Marinette wouldn't give up any of them for the world.

So Alya drags them to Nino's place and they have some fun with his DJ tech and Marinette clobbers everyone at Mega Strike III.

And Marinette calls home and asks her parents if the cake is enough for a party of eight.

Marinette blows out the candles and wishes for one thing.

That this happiness she feels comes back to her again.

They split the cake and Adrien practically melts with joy and Marinette blushes as he smiles at her.

She's dressed in blue and there are sparkles and it's one of Gabriel's designs and her parents' gift to her and Adrien says it was his favourite design of his father's new line. Marinette blushes to the tip of her ears and Nino calls Adrien away in time for Marinette to see Lila rushing out the living room.

She excuses herself and follows down the stairwell.

"Lila?"

"Hey," Lila says, spinning around at the front door. "I was just looking for the washroom."

"Lila," Marinette tiptoes, because Lila's face is twisted into a look that Marinette is familiar with. It's the look when someone is trying not to cry. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Lila says, and she's couldn't convince a rock. Her eyes glimmer with tears and Marinette hurries down the stairs and hugs the girl instinctively.

"What happened?" She murmurs, rubbing the girls back comfortingly. Lila's breath comes in short bursts. "Lila?"

Lila laughs and it sounds like hail on glass.

"I'm sorry, I'm being so selfish. It's your special day and I'm here c-crying like an idiot!"

Marinette pulls away and grips her shoulders.

"You're not an idiot, Lila," Marinette says, and she puts as much force into her words as she can. "You're a wonderful girl and an amazing friend and I wouldn't be able to have a good birthday knowing you were upset."

"I'll hide it better next time-"

"No! That's not it," Marinette shakes her a bit to prove her point. Lila doesn’t meet her eyes. "I'm your friend, I'm here for you if you need to talk and-"

"I think I have a crush on you."

Marinette's train of thought crashes into an unseen wall and she forgets how humans work.

Lila... Lila has a crush on her?

"Lila, I'm-"

Not into girls.

Marinette takes a step back. Lila fumbles for the doorknob and Marinette clings to her hand, remembering the first time they held hands.

The day they became friends.

"Don't leave," her words come out as a whisper, and Lila blurs in front of her. "I just need to think. Please don't go."

Lila stares at her, stares at her with wide green eyes and tears trickling down her cheeks.

Marinette is straight, isn't she?

She thinks back to how she felt about Adrien, how she still feels about Adrien. It's not like how she feels about Lila.

How she feels about Lila is how she feels about Alya and Nino, right? Just friends, just a platonic relationship.

But she thinks of Lila's handholding, of their hugs and how Lila looks when she's all flustered and how her laugh has a role in an orchestra and how her smile rivals nature. She thinks of Lila's past and her lies and how easily Marinette can read her now and how Lila doesn't lie to her and tries not to lie anymore.

And she thinks of Volpina, the new superheroine taking down akumas and saving Marinette like she was some damsel in distress. The heroine who rarely worked with Ladybug or Chat Noir but helped evacuate citizens and protected them from the consequences of the akumas. She was the one who helped victims get to safety and helped them into therapy programs.

And she stares at Lila. Stares at the green eyes she first connected with Adrien and then learned she was wrong. Lila's eyes are a living forest, an abundance of nature and growth and life and cycles. Dark and deep and promising change and nothing new at the same time.

Adrien's were bright with an ideal of life and innocence and kindness but they were not like Lila's.

They were similar, but not the same.

And so Marinette meets Lila's eyes, and wonders.

Would she ever feel towards anyone the way she feels towards Lila?

Maybe. But not right now.

Marinette links their hands together, and closes the distance between them.

"Can I kiss you?" She asks, and her voice doesn't go soft. It doesn't shy away.

This is Lila, she thinks. It's okay.

Lila's still frozen, but her eyes warm and she nods. She smiles and it warms Marinette's heart.

They kiss and it's rain upon the forest, a brief shower bringing life and continuing the cycle.

They press their foreheads together, and Marinette hugs her.

"Thanks," Lila says.

Marinette smiles.

"For what?"

Lila laughs, quietly, and Marinette feels the warmth of her feelings.

"For everything."


End file.
